Has anyone acquired a Hongdian A7?

[Mildmay89]

Has anyone acquired a Hongdian A7 and would be willing to give a review/share some photos? 

 

This cartridge/converter pen has cropped up recently on AliExpress and Ebay.

It's a resin-impregnated wood pen available in green and blue finishes with an EF/F nib - without having had it in my hands, seems to be the same slightly softer nib as found in the N12?

However, a post on another forum before the A7 launched referred to the A7's new as a 'new generation', which is intriguing!

 

The marketing images show really vivid burl patterns; allowing for the natural variation of wood, I'm nevertheless very curious to see anyone's in-hand photos!

 

The sales pictures Hongdian have produce claim this process is crack resistant - I remember the Hongdian N24 had cracking issues with the wooden cap but I think that was coated rather than resin-impregnated?

[Dan Carmell]

I’m not sure what happened, but the A7 disappeared from AliExpress a couple of weeks ago—almost overnight. 365Days Stationery said they had 7 remaining, only in green I think. No idea if there was a problem with the pen or if it was available only in small numbers and sold out. You might contact 365Days to see if they have retained any. Sigh, this is the problem being a western consumer of Chinese pens—information is very limited. 

[Nyoko]

I have the A7 in green, and quite simply, it is a beautiful - and beautifully crafted - pen. The depth and visual texture of the wood is lovely and intriging, especially in good light (as the photos show). The quality of this A7 and the other Hongdian pens I own is exceptional, far beyond what you would expect for the price.

 

As for the nib, it deserves praise. I wouldn't call the fine point one I have "soft" but maybe slightly bouncy or "not too stiff". It came to me perfectly ground and aligned, and wrote well with no adjustment. The nib has a high quality appearance (not like Chinese nibs used to look) and the stamping is excellent. The grind gives a slight line variation and gives your writing a bit of extra character. It has a nice consistent flow - controlled wetness - and no hard starts, even after sitting for many days. Sad to say it, but these Hongdian (and some other recent Chinese pens) put many very expensive European pens to shame in terms of overall quality and especially "out of the box" writing ability. I won't name any brands but I've had too many experiences of receiving an expensive high-end pen that would barely write without having to do considerable adjustment to the nib. All the Hongdian pens I have purchased wrote perfectly from day one.

 

I also have a Hongdian N10, which is a metal pen with an ebonite feed and two Hongdian N12s. All have piston fillers. I would say the nib on the N10 is ever so slightly softer than the A7 and N12 nibs. All of these pens are well worth the price.

 

Another Chinese pen I really enjoy is the Jinhao Dadao, especially because of the nib. Again it came (medium point nib) perfectly adjusted and aligned with a generous but controlled flow. It writes very smoothly with no stops or hard starts.

 

[Mildmay89]

Dan & Nyoko, thank you for your replies; very intriguing. Thanks in particular for the first non-marketing images of the pen I've seen.

Nyoko, I completely agree with you about the quality of Hongdian! 

 

I'm at a stage in my modest collection where I'm trying to be very deliberate about new pens. I think I might not be able to resist this one, if I can get it!

 

Cheers!

[mke]

On Ebay, it says "not available anymore, error in the listing". IMO, that points to a callback from Hongdian.

[jchch1950]

The pen looks very nice but no availability is frustrating.

[Mildmay89]

Ah drat, what a shame. I am/was really keen on this one. 

[Number99]

If you read the comments section of this bilibili program, you can find out what happened and the local rumors.

Unlike before, you need to register to read the comments section. During playback, a prompt to register will appear, but you can turn it off each time.

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV18vxFegEKc/

 

 

[A Smug Dill]

2 hours ago, Number99 said:

If you read the comments section of this bilibili program, you can find out what happened and the local rumors.

 

Thank you for that! Very interesting.

[Dan Carmell]

18 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

Thank you for that! Very interesting.

Could you give us a summary? Very interesting makes me very curious! 😂 

[A Smug Dill]

28 minutes ago, Dan Carmell said:

Could you give us a summary?

 

I didn't watch all of it. The commentary in the first part of the video questioned HongDian's design decisions with regard to the pen body's material and its (unnecessary and cheapening) finishing, and also pointed out a glaring QC fail in the unit being reviewed.

 

I don't have a registered Bilibili account, and am not about to sign up for one just to watch this, and so I can only read the first one-and-a-half comments left by other viewers, which mention other QC issues and doubts.

[Dan Carmell]

58 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

I didn't watch all of it. The commentary in the first part of the video questioned HongDian's design decisions with regard to the pen body's material and its (unnecessary and cheapening) finishing, and also pointed out a glaring QC fail in the unit being reviewed.

 

I don't have a registered Bilibili account, and am not about to sign up for one just to watch this, and so I can only read the first one-and-a-half comments left by other viewers, which mention other QC issues and doubts.

Thank you, it’s still more than I knew before!

[Number99]

6 hours ago, Dan Carmell said:

Could you give us a summary? Very interesting makes me very curious! 😂 

 

5 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

I don't have a registered Bilibili account, and am not about to sign up for one just to watch this, and so I can only read the first one-and-a-half comments left by other viewers, which mention other QC issues and doubts.

I've been wondering for some time now if everyone knows the information but is not writing about it for some reason...

😅

Other comments were made about problems caused by the coupling of the inner cap to the section.

Some commented that the caps should not be closed tightly. However, these are all opinions of individual bilibili video viewers, not the manufacturer. Please take them as rumors only. I wrote this for the benefit of pen users.  

 

 

Edited October 29, 2024 by Number99
The description has been simplified and voluntarily restricted.

[Nyoko]

10 hours ago, Number99 said:

 

I've been wondering for some time now if everyone knows the information but is not writing about it for some reason...

😅

Other comments were made about problems caused by the coupling of the inner cap to the section.

Some commented that the caps should not be closed tightly. However, these are all opinions of individual bilibili video viewers, not the manufacturer. Please take them as rumors only. I wrote this for the benefit of pen users.  

 

 

 

I didn't mention this in my earlier post because it was an easy fix and I assumed it was just one of those things that happen with a very inexpensive pen. But I did have that problem with the coupler on my A7. What happened was when I tried to open the pen to refill it, the upper section piece just came off instead of the whole section unit unscrewing from the body. The cause seemed to be that there was little or no cement holding the section grip onto the coupler.

 

The fix is easy. First just remove the section grip and clean off the inside of that and the outside of the metal coupler. Remove the little O-ring from the coupler and put it aside. Put the section grip back on the coupler to see just how it fits - it is not problematic because the coupler has a ridge that stops the section from going too far..  Then you will need to apply a very little adhesive to the metal surface of the coupler that fits into the section grip piece - very little!  I suppose one could use super glue, epoxy, or any number of glues out there. However, I didn't think it necessary to use anything too permanent; you just need something that will hold reasonably well and can be reversed in case something goes wrong. With fountain pens, I always believe that reversible adhesives are best so I used the trusty orange shellac that we use for gluing rubber pen sacs to the section in most vintage pens. The shellac worked perfectly. I left it till the next day, put the O-ring back on, and the pen was perfectly fine.  Actually it was a lot easier to fix than to describe the process!

 

Of course if this is something many people are experiencing, Hongdian should fix the problem because it is a manufacturing error. But if anyone already has an A7 pen on which the section grip has come loose from the metal coupler, don't worry because it is really easy to fix.

[Shanghai Knife Dude]

mind the grip. DIY more glue might be needed. 

[Number99]

1 hour ago, Shanghai Knife Dude said:

mind the grip. DIY more glue might be needed. 

According to the comments on the bilibili video above, 

It appears that rubber-like parts (Probably related to the inner cap.) are being replaced locally in China, is this correct?

Edited October 30, 2024 by Number99

[Mildmay89]

This is all extremely clarifying and very interesting! I really hope HongDian respec this model and it makes its way to my end of the world. 

[Shanghai Knife Dude]

On 10/30/2024 at 7:53 PM, Number99 said:

According to the comments on the bilibili video above, 

It appears that rubber-like parts (Probably related to the inner cap.) are being replaced locally in China, is this correct?

rubber-like part replaced in china? I am not that sure what you mean. 

 

The initial release of this pen comes like a car crash, with a birthday cake on front passenger seat. 

 

The "resin-impregnated wood" ain't new at all. It has been in general use of industry since 1950's. Under various different fancy names from different makes, it literaly means the same thing, e.g. Pilot S20, S30 河马木. 

 

Also, in the facinating world of knife, "resin-impregnated wood" has been used for knife handle for decades. 

[Number99]

22 hours ago, Shanghai Knife Dude said:

rubber-like part replaced in china? I am not that sure what you mean. 

I was referring to the thing described as "胶圈"(Rubber ring) that several commenters mentioned.

Another commenter mentioned that they received a replacement, but there was an omission in the translation of the "笔握"(grip) and I mistakenly thought this was the "胶圈".

So I'd like to rephrase my question: Is there a pen grip replacement service in place in China?

But the answer to this question may only be known by those involved. It turns out that I was confused, and I have no questions now because I was previously informed that parts and product replacement would be implemented in the event of a problem.

 

22 hours ago, Shanghai Knife Dude said:

Pilot S20, S30 河马木. 

「樺」カバ kaba. maybe 桦木 in Mandarin Chinese. (birch tree.)

「河馬」カバ kaba. maybe 河马 in Mandarin Chinese. (hippopotamus.)

↠So「河马木」？

 

There are many Japanese sellers who write "カバ (kaba)" in katakana, the phonetic form, because some Japanese cannot read the Kanji character for "樺 kaba." (This character is not a common kanji as defined by the Ministry of Education,etc.)

That is why the translation became the homophone animal hippopotamus. Perhaps.

😁

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birch

This is probably a tedious explanation for you. Please allow me to add an explanation for those who do not understand Chinese characters.

 

P.S.

I wrote this after confirming that Pilot S20 and S30 are sold in some stores in China, labeled as 河马木.

 

Edited November 7, 2024 by Number99

[txoko]

Heavens to Mergatroids, Batman!! I just saw this thread and went, "Whaaa....Huh??!!", in polite terms...........  So I hauled out the log to see that I ordered the green A7 (since it looked a bit nicer to my eye than the blue) on October 16, received on October 31.  Inked it with Diamine Teal, did a brief writing sample (typical excellent Hong Dian nib) and put it away.  Haven't had a chance to use it yet.  So I got it out and lo! the thing fell apart when i removed the cap.  The section does not attach to the nib/feed assembly.  The good folks at Hong Dian must be blushing a bright crimson at this oversight as it seems to be a systemic problem.  I am looking at the problem now; Shanghai Knife Dude may have the answer in gluing, but I now have to see if gluing the section to the metal insert into which the plastic nib assembly screws and to which the barrel attaches (whatever that may be called) will fix the problem.  As calm begins to settle in, that looks like it may well solve the problem.  What a surprise to find this little hiccup in what is otherwise a lovely pen.  The nib assembly unscrews from the metal insert, so there is hope for a favorable outcome if i can avoid my usual gluing mess-making..............